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#2
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
In Europe there was a wide-spread belief (once upon a time) that ash trees
(Fraxinus) had some such properties. I will give my Indian tree books a quick try tomorrow. PvR PS Once upon a time there were also believed to be poisonous trees that could be recognized by the dead birds accumulating under it (they tried to fly over the tree but were smitten with the poison) (Jean) wrote: Any one knows more about the magical tree (called " Analivega Patta" ,I don't know its botanical name ) found in the forests of southern India ? Snakes which come under this tree are paralyzed instantly and will be dead within minutes.... according to The Hindu newspaper. The bark of this tree is a powerful antivenom,when crushed and taken along with water. This magical power was noticed by some tribes when they saw the skeletons of snake accumulated under the tree ! Phred schreef Have you asked in sci.bio.botany ? (Or, perhaps, alt.astrology&pyramids Addendum: A quick google turned up just one link! (Time to buy a lotto ticket! It was to the article you saw in _The Hindu_ at http://www.thehindu.com/2003/05/13/s...1300200500.htm (I couldn't get to the page directly from the Google link, but a copy/paste of the URL from the cached version got there okay, YMMV.) The bit I really liked about the tree as described was this: quoting However, the tree is very rare within the jungle. The tribals say they know the location of 20 such trees within this forest area and these trees stand quite far away from one another. This again is a calculative handiwork of the Nature. If there had been too many 'Analivega patta' trees in the forest it would result in the extinction of venomous snakes in the forest. /quoting Ahh... The wisdom of Gaia. ;-) http://www.gaia.org/ Cheers, Phred. -- LID |
#3
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
This sounds like an urban ledgend from India.....
On Wed, 14 May 2003 14:17:53 GMT, (Phred) wrote: In article , (Jean) wrote: Any one knows more about the magical tree (called " Analivega Patta" ,I don't know its botanical name ) found in the forests of southern India ? Snakes which come under this tree are paralyzed instantly and will be dead within minutes.... according to The Hindu newspaper. The bark of this tree is a powerful antivenom,when crushed and taken along with water. This magical power was noticed by some tribes when they saw the skeletons of snake accumulated under the tree ! Have you asked in sci.bio.botany ? (Or, perhaps, alt.astrology&pyramids Addendum: A quick google turned up just one link! (Time to buy a lotto ticket! It was to the article you saw in _The Hindu_ at http://www.thehindu.com/2003/05/13/s...1300200500.htm (I couldn't get to the page directly from the Google link, but a copy/paste of the URL from the cached version got there okay, YMMV.) The bit I really liked about the tree as described was this: quoting However, the tree is very rare within the jungle. The tribals say they know the location of 20 such trees within this forest area and these trees stand quite far away from one another. This again is a calculative handiwork of the Nature. If there had been too many 'Analivega patta' trees in the forest it would result in the extinction of venomous snakes in the forest. /quoting Ahh... The wisdom of Gaia. ;-) http://www.gaia.org/ Cheers, Phred. |
#4
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
No luck. Not that I expected any after reading the article. If this is a
local name tied to these uses ("patta" being an Indian word with a meaning in this direction?) this will be known only locally. PvR P van Rijckevorsel schreef I will give my Indian tree books a quick try tomorrow. PvR |
#5
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
In article ,
P van Rijckevorsel wrote: In Europe there was a wide-spread belief (once upon a time) that ash trees (Fraxinus) had some such properties. I will give my Indian tree books a quick try tomorrow. PvR PS Once upon a time there were also believed to be poisonous trees that could be recognized by the dead birds accumulating under it (they tried to fly over the tree but were smitten with the poison) That may be the semi-mythical Upas tree, the poisonous exhalations of which killed everything for miles around. You aren't supposed to ask how people knew there was a tree in the middle of this dead zone. I say "semi-mythical" because upas is also associated with a real tree, Antiaris toxicaria, the sap of which is used to make an arrow poison. I googled on "upas tree" and found among other things a poem by Pushkin, which I hope is less florid in Russian than in English at http://ruslit.virtualave.net/pushkin/upasengl.html As well as this account at http://www.bartleby.com/81/16994.html Applied to anything baneful or of evil influence. The tradition is that a putrid stream rises from the tree which grows in the island of Java, and that whatever the vapour touches dies. This fable is chiefly due to Foersch, a Dutch physician, who published his narrative in 1783. "Not a tree," he says, "nor blade of grass is to be found in the valley or surrounding mountains. Not a beast or bird, reptile or living thing, lives in the vicinity." He adds that on "one occasion 1,600 refugees encamped within fourteen miles of it, and all but 300 died within two months." This fable Darwin has perpetuated in his ILoves of the Plants./I Bennett has shown that the Dutchman's account is a mere traveller's tale, for the tree while growing is quite innocuous, though the juice may be used for poison; the whole neighbourhood is most richly covered with vegetation; men can fearlessly walk under the tree, and birds roost on its branches. A upas tree grows in Kew Gardens, and flourishes amidst other hot-house plants. |
#6
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
Sounds like something similar to the legends of the Upas tree, Antiaris
toxicaria, which is native to the South Pacific & possibly southeast Asia. The sap is poisonous & was used on blow-darts. The legend about it being deadly to sleep under may have arisen because the tree was common near an active volcano that gave out poisonous fumes. There is an equally or more poisonous tree native to Florida and the Caribbean, the manchineel, Hippomane mancinella. People are warned not to sit under it, because dripping sap can cause a severe rash. The two trees are not related. Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming train." Robert Lowell (1917-1977) |
#7
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
P van Rijckevorsel wrote:
PS Once upon a time there were also believed to be poisonous trees that could be recognized by the dead birds accumulating under it (they tried to fly over the tree but were smitten with the poison) Beverly Erlebacher schreef That may be the semi-mythical Upas tree, the poisonous exhalations of which killed everything for miles around. + + + That is what I was referring to + + + You aren't supposed to ask how people knew there was a tree in the middle of this dead zone. I say "semi-mythical" because upas is also associated with a real tree, Antiaris toxicaria, the sap of which is used to make an arrow poison. I googled on "upas tree" and found among other things a poem by Pushkin, which I hope is less florid in Russian than in English at http://ruslit.virtualave.net/pushkin/upasengl.html As well as this account at http://www.bartleby.com/81/16994.html [snip] This fable is chiefly due to Foersch, a Dutch physician, who published his narrative in 1783. Being Dutch I confess to never having heard of this Foersch [Försch ?], in this country the story is attributed to the famous Rumphius, likely as in http://www.selectbooks.com.sg/titles/3102.htm PvR |
#8
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
Iris Cohen schreef
Sounds like something similar to the legends of the Upas tree, Antiaris toxicaria, which is native to the South Pacific & possibly southeast Asia. + + + Actually the species occurs in Africa too. There were seventeen species described in the genus which were reduced to first four, then one species. + + + The sap is poisonous & was used on blow-darts. The legend about it being deadly to sleep under may have arisen because the tree was common near an active volcano that gave out poisonous fumes. There is an equally or more poisonous tree native to Florida and the Caribbean, the manchineel, Hippomane mancinella. People are warned not to sit under it, because dripping sap can cause a severe rash. The two trees are not related. Iris, + + + The Euphorbiaceae s.l. (to which Hippomane belongs) contain some more species with a reputation for being poisonous, with names such as blind-my-eyes. Don't forget about Anacardiaceae. PvR |
#9
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
In article , Iris Cohen
writes There is an equally or more poisonous tree native to Florida and the Caribbean, the manchineel, Hippomane mancinella. People are warned not to sit under it, because dripping sap can cause a severe rash. The two trees are not related. There's always _Tilia tomentosa_ (from S.E. Europe) which is reported as killing (bumble) bees. One anecdote is that there were so many dead bees under the edge of one tree that there was a circular zone of enhanced soil fertility the next year. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#10
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
Iris Cohen writes
There is an equally or more poisonous tree native to Florida and the Caribbean, the manchineel, Hippomane mancinella. People are warned not to sit under it, because dripping sap can cause a severe rash. The two trees are not related. Stewart Robert Hinsley schreef There's always _Tilia tomentosa_ (from S.E. Europe) which is reported as killing (bumble) bees. One anecdote is that there were so many dead bees under the edge of one tree that there was a circular zone of enhanced soil fertility the next year. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley Well, carefull here. They cleared that up. The bees were not poisoned but died of hunger. Linden trees are especially popular late in the season when they are just about the only source of nectar. Nevertheless what nectar there is is not enough to save the bees from collapsing on the spot. PvR |
#11
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The "Magic" tree that kills snakes instantly........
There's always _Tilia tomentosa_ (from S.E. Europe) which is reported as
killing (bumble) bees. Sounds very far-fetched. As far as I know, bumblebees do not travel in swarms and do not pollinate trees. They are solitary, they live in the ground, & work on herbaceous flowers. In most cases where large numbers of honeybees have fallen to the ground, they were drunk on fermented nectar. I don't think it kills them. If they died suddenly, it was from something else, not a tree. Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming train." Robert Lowell (1917-1977) |
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